Reservations cabinet and daily reminder



Oct. 11, 1938. F. D. scHMll-:DEMANN 2,132,652

l PUSERVTIONS CABINET AND DAILY REMINDER Filed July 26, 1937zsheets-sheet 1 Z5 72 f 2f' y /98 06f/JT 6 .9 /o /2 /3 /6 /7 la 9 29 6Oct. ll, 1938.. F.- D. scHMn-:DEMANN 2,132,652

RESERVATIONS CABINET AND DAILYREMINDER Filed July 26, 1937 n 2Sheets-Sheet 2 f5 j l f5 2&2 25' Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES2,1312 tfsz RESERVATIONS CABINET AND DAILY REMIND Franklin D.lSchrniedemann, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 26, 1937, SerialNo. 155,722

8 Claims.

My invention relates to a reservations cabinet and daily reminder, andwhile `the construction herein described is particularly designed forthe convenient handling of reservations made by patrons of hotels,railroad trains, passenger vessels, airplanes, theatres and the like,the cabinet may also be conveniently used by banks, trust companies,mercantile establishments and the like, for keeping accurate record andbring to attention at the proper time, the expiration of notes, also thedates of interest payments and the dates on which accounts are due andpayable.

The principal object of my invention is, to provide acabinet of thecharacter referred to that is relatively simple in construction, verycompact and which eiects a material saving of time and labor in thetransactions incident to the taking care of hotel reservations, or infact any,

transaction that is arranged for, and which is to be brought to theattention of the user4 of the cabinet on a specied date or hour.

A further object of my invention is, to provide a reservations cabinetor the like, that is constructed and equipped so that it may function asa perpetual calendar for taking care of future engagements, or mattersthat have been arranged for, and which are to be brought to attention ata specified time.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention consists incertain novel features ofvconstruction and arrangements of parts thatwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which: y

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a reservations cabinet constructed inaccordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a portion of one of th interchangeabletrays used in the cabinet.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

'Fig. '7 is an elevational view of the rear righthand portion of thecabinet.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of the form of cabinet that is adapted tobe used in an upright or vertical position.

(Cl. 12S-16) i orated as desired.

Secured within the rear portion of the box or cabinet, parallel with andspaced a short distance in front of rear wall I2, is a partition I4 thatl0 extends from one side wall to the other and supported by andextending rearwardly from the top of this partition is a panel I5. E

The height of rear wall I2 is somewhat less than the height of the sideand front walls of the l5 cabinet, and extending between the upper edgeof the rear wall I2 and the partition I4, is a horizontally disposedwall or partition I6.

Arranged for longitudinal sliding' movement between the rear portion ofpanel I5 and parti- 20 tion I6, is a panel I8 that extends the fullwidth of the cabinet.

The compartment or chamber I9 between the panel I5 partitions I6 and I4,and sliding panel I8 functions as a storage chamber for rectang- 25 ularsections 20 of Celluloid or the like, that bear the names of the monthsand the numbers of the days of the month. There are 365 oflthose members20, one for each day in the year.

Secured to the rear face of rear wall I2, and 30 projecting upwardly andrearwardly are brackets 2| that support an inclined panel 22, the lowerforward edge of which is secured to the rear edge of panel I5. l

Mounted on the central portion of this panel 35 22 is an electric clock23, and formed in the panel to the sides of the clock are substantiallythe calendar card for the succeeding month appears through the righthandone of said openings.

On the rst of each month, the upper one of the cards in the righthandpocket is transferred tothe top of the cards in thel lefthand one of thepockets, and thus the user of the device has constantlya in view acalendar succeeding months.

Panel I5 is provided with a longitudinally disposed channel 21, thelower portion of which is slightly wider than the upper portion, thusproviding along the sides of said channel, anges 28 that project towardeach other, and which serve to retain in said channels, the individualdatebearing members 20 as they slide from therighthand end to thelefthand end thereof.

In order to decrease the friction between the sliding members 20 and thebottom of the channel, a narrow longitudinally disposed rib 29 is formedon the bottom of the channel 21 and the members 20 rest on this rib asthey slide through channel 21.

for the present and The righthand end of channel 21 is open at the Ycorresponding end of panel I5, asvv designated by v3l), in order topermit the periodic insertion of the individual members 20, as thelatter are withdrawn from the righthand end of compartment I9 Positionedon the outer face of the rlghthand side wall I0, immediately below thecorresponding end of panel I5, is a vertically disposed block 3l, thatfunctions as a side wall for the correspondingl end of chamber I9, andformed in the upper portion of said block is an opening 32, whichpermits the thumb or finger to be placed on the outer one of the members20, in order to remove same rearwardly past the righthand end of the-slide I8, and after suchremoval, the member is inserted in the openrighthand end lll of the channel 21, so as to engage therighthand end ofthe member 20 that was previously inserted in said channel. Thus theends of the members 20 within the channel 21 abut each other, andlateral pressure applied to-the righthand one of said members in thechannel will move all of said members toward the lefthaud so as toproperly position the date-bearing members 2l directly the inner face ofthe adjacent side wall Il, directly opposite this opening 32 andextending downwardly to the partition I6 is a spring 24, having aninwardly bowed intermediate portion.

As a result of the arrangementiustdescribed.'

the lefthand one of the members 2l in the chaunel 21 when moved towardythe lefthand will, as a resultof its engagement with spring 24, bend andmove downwardly through the opening Il and the bowed intermediateportion of said spring will force said member against the end one of themembers l 20 that occupy the compartment I9. (See Fig. 6.) This transferof the members Il from the channel 21 to the compartment I! takes placewhenever the series of members 2l that occupy said channel are movedthe'length of one member toward the lefthand through the channel.

Secured within the box or cabinet adjacent and parallel with therighthand one of the side" walls I0, is a partition 35 that extends fromthe front wall I I to the partition I4 and panel Il; and arrangedbetween this partition and adjacent righthand wall III, are verticallydisposed partitions 36 spaced equi-distant apart thereby formingvertically disposed pockets 31 for the reception.of

narrow cards or slips of cardboard or heavy paper on which is writtendatav relating to future reservations; that is, reservations that aretaken for dates in advance of a predetermined number of days,for-instance, the seven days constituting a week. 5

Arranged between the partition and adjacent side wall I0, immediatelyadjacent the partition I4, is a filler wall 2t, and positioned on topthereof and held-thereon by round-headed tacks 39 is a card or thinstrip of celluloid or the like l0 40a, bearing the word Futures,`thusindicating that all data relating to future reservations and engagementsare to be placed in the pockets 31.

'I'he side edges of the thin partitions 36 occupy vertically disposedgrooves 31a that are' formed in 15 the side faces of the partition 35and the righthand side wall I0, and these grooves terminate just belowthe upper edges of said partition and side wall, as illustrated in Fig.3, and thus thepartitions 36ers prevented from dropping out of 20 theirproper positions in the event that cabinet is turned upside down.

Removably arranged within the box or cabinet between the partition 35and the lefthand sidev wall I0, is a series of narrow boxes that areidenti- 25 cal in construction and each box comprises a pair of parallelside walls 40, front and rear walls 4I and a bottom 42.

In order to reduce friction and to permit the boxes just described tomove freely while being 30 shifted from one position to the other, thinstraps 43 of metal are positioned on the outer faces of the end walls 4Iand on the under 'sides of the bottoms 42.

Where the cabinet is constructed for taking 35 care of hotelreservations and for booking passengers on trains, passengers on ships,airplanes and the like, there are seven of the boxes used in thecabinet, one for each day in the week, and secured on the upper face ofthe upper end wall 4I over 40 each box, is a strip 44 of Celluloid,metal or the like; and printed thereupon, is the name of one of the daysof the week. The printed slips 44 are preferably retained on the endwalls of the boxes by round-headed tacks 45 and the pairs of tacks 45used in securing the strips to the boxes are preferably distinctlycolored, in order to minimize the possibility of errors in insertingreservations slips in the compartments within the boxes.

Arranged between the side walls 40 of each box 50 is a series ofvertically disposed partitions 46 spaced equi-.distant apart, saidpartitions being formed of thin sheet metal, Celluloid or the like.These Partitions divide the space within each box into a series of smallcompartments 41, that are 55 adapted to receive the slips of cardboardor heavy paper upon which is written data relating to the reservations.Each box contains approximately 25 compartments, one for each letter ofthe alphabet, and appearing on the upper edge of the o0 lefthand sidewall of each box, directly opposite the compartments, are the letters ofthe alphabet.

To save space, one compartment may be pro'- vided for the last threeletters of the alphabet.

The side edges of the thin partitions 4B occupy o5 vertically disposedgrooves 48 that are formed in the inner faces of the side walls of thebox, and which grooves donot'extend all the way to the tops of said sidewalls. Thus the partitions are retained in theboxes in the event thatthe latter 70 are turned upside down. (See Figs. 2 and 4.)

In order-to provide handles to enable the boxes to be readily liftedfrom the cabinet, one partition in each box midway between its ends isextended upwardly a short distance, to form an ear or tab 75 thecompartments the width of the boxes containing the compartments 41, andthus when the cabinet is made ready for use, one-of the members 20 ispositioned directly above one of the boxesand the boxes are arranged sothat the days of the week appearing on the strips 44 that are positionedon the upper ends of. the boxes correspond with, and. are disposeddirectly below the days of the month that appear on those members 20that are exposed in channel 21.

Assuming that the cabinet is used for taking care of reservations inhotels, and a patron bear ing the name of Brown desires to make areservation for July 10, the patron communicates with the hotel and theclerk or person in charge of reservations makes out a slip bearing thepatrons name and other data relating to the reservation, and placesthesame in the compartment `41 designated by the initial B on the boxthat is position in the cabinet, directly below the'member 2li bearingthe date July 10.

At the close of each days business, the clerk or person-in charge of thecabinet removes the righthand one of the boxes having the slip receivingcompartments, and after moving the rest of the boxes towardl thelefthand to create a space equal to the width of one box immediately tothe left of partition 35, inserts the removed box in such space, and atthe same time exerts pressure on the righthand one of the exposedmembers 20 in channel 21 and moves the same toward the lefthand,vthereby shifting the positions of all of the exposed members 20 thedistance of one member, so as to bring the properly marked members 20into position immediately above the boxes marked with the days of theweek. As the members 20 are thus shifted toward the lefthand thedistance of one member, the member at the lefthand end of the exposedseries of members will strike against spring 34, and being formed ofCelluloid or like flexible material, said member will bend downwardlyand finally pass into position between the end of the series of memberswithin the compartment I9 and spring 34.

The positions of the members 20 in their vpassage through thecompartment I9 do not change, so that said members are in proper.

sequence as they reach the righthand side of the cabinet.

lTo replace the member 20 that has been transferred to the compartmentI9, the operator places the thumb or finger in the opening 32 in block3|, to engage the righthand one of the series of membersy 20 incompartment I9 and withdraws said member, and places the same in therighthand end of channel 21, and such procedure positions the members inproper sequence in the channel.

At the close or beginning of each day's business, the clerk or person incharge of the cabinet runs through the reservation slips contained in 31having the heading Futures" and transfers those slips that bearreservations made for the date taken care of by the next adjacentmovable box, and which latter eventually arrives at the lefthand end ofthe box and which position corresponds to the reservation date.

When one of the movable boxes ls transferred from the lefthand side ofthe cabinet to the righthand side thereof, all reservations slipswillhave been removed from the compartments 41. The form of cabinetillustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive, is designed to occupy ahorizontal position upon a counter, desk or the like,' and the formillustrated in Fig. 9 is adapted to occupy a vertical position on asuitable support.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a reservations cabinet anddaily reminder that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive ofnotes and the dates on which full or partial pay-- ments of accounts aredue.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of my improved reservations cabinetand daily reminder may. be made and substituted for those herein shownand described without departing from the spirit of my invention, thescope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a reservation cabinet and daily reminder,

the combination with a box-like container and a plurality of traysremovably positioned within the said container, each tray having aseries of compartments, said ys being distinctively marked, thecompartments in each tray being distinctively marked, there being aseries of `compartments formed in the righthand portion of thecontainer, the number of the last-mentioned compartments correspondingwith the number of compartments in each tray, and there being a channelformed along the edge of said container at its upper end, of a series ofdatebearing members arranged for sliding movement through said channel,the length of said datebearing members being equal to the width of saidtrays so that when a row of said members y a plurality of traysremovably positioned within the said container, each tray having aseries of compartments, said trays being distinctivelyl marked, thecompartments in each tray being distinctively marked'. there being aseries of compartments formed in the righthand portion of the container,the number of the last-mentioned compartments corresponding with thenumber of compartments in each tray, and there being a channel formed`along the edge of said container at its upper end, of a series ofdate-bearing members arranged for sliding movement through said channel,the length of said datebearing members being equal to the widthof saidtrays so that when a row of said members is properly positioned in thechannel, they occupy positions directly in line with the respectivepositioned within said container, each tray having a plurality ofcompartments, said trays being distinctively marked, the compartments ineach tray being distinctively marked, and there being a channel formedalong the edge oi' said container at its rear end, of a series ofdate-bearing members arranged end to end for sliding movement throughsaid channel thelength of said sliding date-bearing memberscorresponding to the width of said trays, there being a compartment inthe container below said channel and a sliding panel forming the rearwall of said compartment, one end of which channel communicates withsaid last-mentioned compartment and the other end of which lastmentioned compartment is openvto permit the removal of the datebearlngmembers from said channel.

4. In a reservation cabinet and daily reminder, the combination with abox-like container, a plurality of interchangeable trays removablypositioned within said container, each tray having a plurality ofcompartments, said trays being distinctively marked, the compartmentsineach tray being distinctively marked, and there being a channel formedalong vthe upper edge of said container at its rear end, and a series ofdatebearing members arranged end to end for sliding movement throughsaid channel, the length of which date-bearing members equals the widthof said trays, there being a compartment in the.'

container below said channel, one end ofwhich channel communicates withsaid last mentioned compartment and the other end of said last mentionedcompartment being open to permit the removal of the date-,bearingmembers therefrom ol' resilient meanslocated within said last mentionedcompartment in the end thereof that communicates with said channel forguiding the datebearing members as they pass from the channel into saidlast mentioned compartment.

5. In a reservation cabinet and daily reminder, the combination with abox-like lcontainer and a plurality of interchangeable trays removablypositioned within said container, each tray having a plurality ofcompartments, said trays being distinctively marked, the compartments ineach tray being distinctively marked, and there being a channel formedalong the upper edge of said container at its rear end, of a series ofdatebearlng members arranged end to end for sliding movement throughsaid channel, the length of which date-bearing members is equal to thewidth of said trays. there being a compartment in the container belowsaid channel, one end of which channel communicates with said lastmentioned compartment, and the otherend of said last mentionedlcompartment being open to permit the removal of the date-bearing membersfrom said channel, and a longitudinally disposed datebearing membersupporting rib projecting upwardly from the bottom of said channel.

6. In a reservation cabinet and daily reminder,

the combination with a box-like container and a plurality ofinterchangeable trays removably positioned within said container, eachtray having a plurality of compartments, said trays being distinctivelymarked, the compartments in each tray being distinctively marked, andthere being a channel formed along the upper edge of .saidv whichchannel communicates with said last mentioned compartment, and the otherend of said last mentioned compartment being open to permit the removalof the date-bearing members from said'channel, and a resilient memberarranged within said last named compartment in the end adjacent thechannel, which member communicates with the channel for guiding thedate-bearing members from said channel into said last mentionedcompartment and the bottom of said channel being provided with anlupstanding longitudinally disposed rib for supporting the date-bearingmembers in said channel.

7. In a reservation cabinet and daily reminder, the combination with abox-like container and a plurality of interchangeable trays removablypositioned within said container, each t'ray having a series ofcompartments, said trays being distinctively marked, and thecompartments in each tray being distinctively marked, of a series ofdate-bearing members arranged end to end for sliding movementtransversely of the container adjacent the upper" ends ol.' said trays,the length oi' said date-bearing members being equal to the width of thetrays and the data borne by said date-bearing members bearing directrelation to the distinctive marking of the respective trays. y

8. In a reservations cabinet and daily reminder, the combination with abox-'like container, of a plurality of trays removably positioned withinsaid container, each tray having a series of com-f.

transverse channel formed in the top of the container directly to therear of the trays therein, and a series oi' date-bearing panels arrangedfor sliding movement lin said channel, the lengthof 'which date-bearingpanelsis equal to the width oi.' the trays and the dates on the slidingpanels bearing relation to the distinctive markings of said trays.

FRANKLIN' D. SCHMIEDEMANN.

